Definition
A rapidly descending, tightening turn in which the aircraft loses altitude while banked, with the nose dropping progressively and airspeed building quickly. It typically develops when a steep turn is allowed to deteriorate — bank increases, the nose drops below the horizon, and pulling back on the controls only tightens the turn rather than raising the nose, accelerating the descent.
Plain English
A turn that has gone wrong and turned into a fast, spiralling dive toward the ground. The aircraft is banked, the nose is low, speed is rising, and pulling back makes it worse instead of better.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flying when practicing or discussing steep turns, especially if the pilot loses the correct attitude reference or lets the turn become too steep.
Derivation
“Dive” means to descend steeply, and “spiral” means a curving path around a center. Together, they describe an airplane moving downward while turning around a curved path.
Why Pilots Care
If not corrected promptly it produces rapidly increasing airspeed and structural loads that can lead to loss of control or aircraft damage.
Grounding Statement
Picture the airplane turning in a steep circle while the nose keeps dropping and the speed keeps building.
Intuition Check
Do not read “diving spiral” as a planned maneuver or just a normal steep turn. In this context, it means an unsafe, unintended descending turn with increasing speed.
Example Sentence 1
When the student let the bank exceed 60 degrees and pulled back on the yoke, the steep turn quickly developed into a diving spiral.
Example Sentence 2
Recovery from a diving spiral begins by reducing power and rolling wings level before attempting to raise the nose.